Haha, well my savings WERE Apple stock, but I had to bail on it because I think it's a sinking ship. I'm a small business owner making $800 a month, so it will be a long journey before I have more money to invest. I just need a safe place for that money. Inflation makes savings accounts pointless.

“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).

Consumerism is a bitch. It creeps up on you pretty quickly. I learned a lot about it the first time I moved from my house to an apartment...couldn't believe how much crap I've purchased and only use irregularly.

“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).

This.
Figure out a way to make that $20k turn your $800/mo small business into a $5k/mo small business.
Even if it only ends up being $2500, you can still spend 20 months saving up the $20k again, and still have almost twice the income.

There are no crimes against people.
There are only crimes against the state.
And the state will never, ever choose to hold accountable its agents, because a thing can not commit a crime against itself.

Is this money you may be needing in the next couple years? If so (and you indicate you want safety), you want to take less risk than if you won't need it for a long time. You will at least want to keep enough in a safe, liquid form to be able to cover all your expenses for a year (they used to say about six months but given the current employment situation I would want a year) should you for some reason lose your income source. I would not put that money into stocks or metals. But having said that, where I have a block of my "emergency fund" is in a stock- a dividend paying utility stock. Look into DRIPs or Dividend ReInvestment Plans- the cheapest way to invest in stocks (lower costs means higher returns). I get a guaranteed return with the dividend and utility stocks tend to be pretty stable so are less risky than other stocks. I keep another chunk (at least three months expenses) in a basic bank account. Low interest but safe keeping for the money. Having a reserve was critical the last time I found myself out of work- and it took 11 months to find a new job.

"I think we never get the candidate we exactly want unless you're the candidate." Rand Paul.

What would you do with the money right now? I'm asking in complete seriousness, and could really use the advice. Where would you invest? And mutual funds worth looking at? How much into gold & silver?

Will you need the money in the short term? Most advisers would say that you need a liquid emergency fund.

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Is this money you may be needing in the next couple years? If so (and you indicate you want safety), you want to take less risk than if you won't need it for a long time. You will at least want to keep enough in a safe, liquid form to be able to cover all your expenses for a year (they used to say about six months but given the current employment situation I would want a year) should you for some reason lose your income source. I would not put that money into stocks or metals. But having said that, where I have a block of my "emergency fund" is in a stock- a dividend paying utility stock. Look into DRIPs or Dividend ReInvestment Plans- the cheapest way to invest in stocks (lower costs means higher returns). I get a guaranteed return with the dividend and utility stocks tend to be pretty stable so are less risky than other stocks. I keep another chunk (at least three months expenses) in a basic bank account. Low interest but safe keeping for the money. Having a reserve was critical the last time I found myself out of work- and it took 11 months to find a new job.

I'm in the same position, looks like just a little over 11 months and I have a new gig.

“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).

Congratulations! I was so happy to be finally working again! I did not care that I was working for a lot less money than before- it was more money than not working and I had the chance to work my way up. Now I make more than I used to. Looking for work was very frustrating and really sucked. A really crappy job is better than trying to find a job for that long.

"I think we never get the candidate we exactly want unless you're the candidate." Rand Paul.

Congratulations! I was so happy to be finally working again! I did not care that I was working for a lot less money than before- it was more money than not working and I had the chance to work my way up. Now I make more than I used to. Looking for work was very frustrating and really sucked. A really crappy job is better than trying to find a job for that long.

Indeed :-)

I'm making about 10% less, but getting back in the saddle is worth it. I tried getting a crappy job, nobody would hire me...really a lame position to be in.

“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).

Haha, well my savings WERE Apple stock, but I had to bail on it because I think it's a sinking ship. I'm a small business owner making $800 a month, so it will be a long journey before I have more money to invest. I just need a safe place for that money. Inflation makes savings accounts pointless.

what kind of business do you own? if you run a business, $20k shouldn't be hard to use

Assuming I had no home no car and no job, I would build myself a tiny house (one of those 100 square foot homes) with solar panels for heat and a wood stove for warmth at a cost of less than $10,000, buy a cheap car that can tow it and find someone that is willing to let me stay in their driveway and use their water. I would have a home with no debt that I can take anywhere I need, a car to get me anywhere I need, and I could find a minimum wage job and have next to no expenses beyond food/wood/water which would all be pretty cheap. And if i could I would not even get a car at all which would eliminate car maintenance costs. From there I could save several thousand a year and after a few years I would have more money than I started with. At that point I could start investing.

What would you do with the money right now? I'm asking in complete seriousness, and could really use the advice. Where would you invest? And mutual funds worth looking at? How much into gold & silver?

I would invest it in different places . Tools that never go obsolete and are highly sought after, maybe a rifle, some pre 1960s minted u.s. coins and just spend it .Id probably spend it on something like obtaining a very rare but in demand trade skill and the tools to do that trade .

'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988

Setting your sites kind of low there 2young, eh? $20,000 isn't a lot of money. Why would you want to work a minimum wage job?

When I say minimum wage job I don't necessarily mean I'd actually earn minimum wage, I just meant a low paying job that can be easily found around the city. Obviously if I could get a better job I would, but the low paying one is the starting point to get going. I made an excel spreadsheet and estimated that someone could put anywhere from $5000 to $7000 a year into a savings account while making $14000 a year if they lived frugally and didn't have a car and mortgage and huge electric/gas/plumbing bills. The idea is to take care of all of the necessities in life before taking any risks.

Use it to invest in the precious metals market asap, gold, silver, even copper. All of them are accumulating wealth and will continue to do so. I(nvest in any thing else and you'll only see what you invested in become worth less and less as the Federal Reserve manipulates and tanks the market and devalues the dollar.

“Maybe I forgot to mention something to you: I don’t believe in queens. You think freedom is something you can give and take on a whim. But to your people, freedom is as essential as air. And without it, there is no life. There is only darkness.” -Zaheer

What would you do with the money right now? I'm asking in complete seriousness, and could really use the advice. Where would you invest? And mutual funds worth looking at? How much into gold & silver?

Depends on what assets you have. Do you own a home? A car? Are you satisfied with your current home? Does your car run well? If yes to all, I say forego the gold and silver for awhile to invest in real estate. It won't get you much, but it's a good start. I would try to build your income before you start pouring your cash into gold and silver. Only put into gold and silver (preferably silver) what you can afford to do without. From there, your decisions should be ruled mainly by good sense.

To give you more details - I have no debt and no home. I currently rent a house with 3 other people. My monthly bills are $400 (rent, cable, gas, electric, phone). I am steadily employed at $800 a month in order to grow my business as much as possible (it's a tabletop gaming retail store, growing steadily) but could bump that up to $900-$1000 at the start of next year. I have my bachelors degree in Philosophy (Asian). I've taken and taught wilderness survival classes for about 8 years. I have no food or water stockpiled and do not own a gun or ammo. I own a Plymouth Neon with over 200k miles on it.

I'm looking to put a good chunk of my money toward more of a long-term savings and will keep the rest as an emergency fund. Hopefully that helps!

Haha, well my savings WERE Apple stock, but I had to bail on it because I think it's a sinking ship. I'm a small business owner making $800 a month, so it will be a long journey before I have more money to invest. I just need a safe place for that money. Inflation makes savings accounts pointless.

Good luck with your business. I just wonder what made you want to start one now? Living off of $800/month is not easy, so I assume you just started it and are starting to build. What business are you in?